希羅 (Heron of Alexandria)

希羅（約為公元 75 年）是一位著名的數學家和發明家。此外，他在天文學、機械學、物理學和氣體力學等方面都貢獻良多。他發明了許多利用水力、蒸汽以及壓縮空氣作動力的機械，如噴泉及消防泵等。

此外他亦在《度量學》(Metrica)一書中，發明了求一個數的平方根的方法。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關希羅的資料：
http://www.edp.ust.hk/previous/math/history/3/3_86.htm


Heron of Alexandria (circa 75 AD) was a famous mathematician and inventor. Besides mathematics, he was also well known in various fields such as astronomy, mechanics, physics, pneumatics and so on. He also invented many mechanical devices operated by water, steam or compressed air such as fountains and fire engines. In his book Metrica, he invented a method of calculating the square root of a number.

Students may visit the following website for more details of Heron:
http://turnbull.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Heron.html

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花拉子米 (Mohammed ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi)

花拉子米（約公元 783 - 850）是一位阿拉伯數學家，他在公元 830 年，寫了一本名為 Hisab al-jabr w-al-muqabala 的著作，書名直譯為《利用還原與對消運算的簡明算書》。這是第一本有關代數的書籍，而'algebra'一詞就是來自該書名中的'ai-jabr'。因此，花拉子米亦被尊稱為「代數之父」。

在這本書中，他發展了一套解二次方程的方法，其中包括利用幾何原理完成配方法。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關花拉子米的資料：
http://www.edp.ust.hk/math/history/3/3_90.htm

The first book on Algebra was entitled Hisab al-jabr w-al-muqabala. The word 'algebra' came from the title 'al-jabr'. It was written in 830 AD by an Arabian mathematician, Mohammed ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi (about 783 AD - 850 AD). He is known as the father of Algebra.
In his book, he developed a system to solve quadratic equations, including geometric principles for completing the square.

Student may visit the following website for more details about al-khwarizmi:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Al-Khwarizmi.html

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陳省身 (Chern Shiing-shen)

陳省身（1911 - 2004）於1911年出生於浙江嘉興，1926年考入南開大學數學系，1930年考入清華大學數學研究所，這四年（1930 - 1934年）確定研究的方向是微分幾何，畢業後取得獎學金留學德國，1936年獲博士學位，轉赴法國師隨大師卡當 (Elie Cartan) 。1943至1945年赴美國普林斯敦 (Princeton) 高等研究院研究。抵美兩個月後, 即完成其著名的論文 ──《閉曲面流形高斯--博內公式 (Gauss-Bonnet Formula) 的一個簡單的內蘊證明》，對於後來微分幾何的發展和微分幾何學者的研究影響深遠。


學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關陳省身的資料：
http://www.jpwz.com/bg5/chinese/intr/jchrcss.asp


Chern Shiing-shen（陳省身）(1911 - 2004) was born in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, China in 1911. He has admitted to of the Department of Mathematics of Nankai University in 1926 and to the graduate school of Tsinghua University in1930. During his four years of studies(1930 - 1934), his research was focused on differential geometry. He obtained a scholarship upon graduation to further his studies in Germany, and received his doctoral degree in 1936. Later on, he went to Paris and studied with the renowned mathematician Elie Cartan. In 1943 - 1945, he worked in the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Having arrived in the United States for two months, he finished his famous paper entitled "A simple intrinsic proof of the Gauss-Bonnet formula for closed Riemannian manifolds", which inspired other differential geometers. This paper has a great impact on the development and researches of differential geometry.


Student may visit the following website for more details about Chern Shiing-shen:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Chern.html

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歐幾里得 (Euclid)

歐幾里得是位希臘數學家，他約於公元前 300 年編寫了著名的數學叢書《幾何原本》。這套叢書共有 13 卷，歐幾里得於書中有系統地演繹出 465 條定理。此書出版至今已超過二千多年，但仍在全世界的數學學習與教學上佔了主要的地位，特別是在幾何學的範疇內。


學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關歐幾里得的資料：
http://home.ied.edu.hk/~s0117821/Euclid.htm

延伸閱讀：
《新世紀版十萬個為什麼 - 數學篇 I》
《新世紀版十萬個為什麼 - 數學篇 II》
《人物世界歷史 1 古代篇》


Euclid is a very famous Greek mathematician who wrote a series of books called Elements in about 300 BC. Elements consists of 13 books, in this books Euclid gave a single deductive chain of 465 propositions neatly and systematically. For over two thousands years, these books have dominated the study and teaching of mathematics, especially in the field of geometry, all over the world.


Student may visit the following website for more details about Euclid:
http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/Euclid.html

延伸閱讀：
《新世紀版十萬個為什麼 - 數學篇 I》
《新世紀版十萬個為什麼 - 數學篇 II》
《人物世界歷史 1 古代篇》

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歐拉 (Leonard Euler)

歐拉 (1707 - 1783) 是一位十八世紀的著名瑞士數學家。他於瑞士的巴賽爾出生，而於俄羅斯的聖彼得堡逝世。
歐拉年少時，並沒有在學校學到任何數學知識，他的數學知識都是靠自學或私人補習而學到。1720年，他的父親送他到巴塞爾大學接受通識教育，以作進一步研習的準備。1726年，歐拉在巴塞爾大學完成學業，並且繼續進行研究，並獲得不少數學上的成就。歐拉特別擅長於數論、微分方程及微分之變分法。


學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關歐拉的資料：
http://home.ied.edu.hk/~s0117821/Euler.htm

延伸閱讀：
《新世紀版十萬個為什麼 — 數學篇 I》


Leonard Euler (1707 - 1783) was a famous Swiss mathematician in the 18th century. He was born in Basel, Switzerland and died in St. Petersburg, Russia.

When Euler was young, he did not learn any mathematics from school. He learnt mathematics by self-study and private lessons. In 1720, his father sent him to the University of Basel to get a general education before continuing with advanced studies. In 1726, Euler completed his studies in the University of Basel where he had attained great achievements in mathematics, particularly in number theory, differential equations and calculus of variation.


Student may visit the following website for more details about Euler:
http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Euler/RouseBall/RB_Euler.html

延伸閱讀：
《新世紀版十萬個為什麼 — 數學篇 I》

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斐波那契 (Leonardo Fibonacci)

斐波那契 (1175 - 1250) 出生於巴黎，是一位著名的意大利數學家。在羅馬數字仍被普遍應用於拉丁語國家時期，斐波那契是首位運用阿拉伯數字於歐洲世界中的數學家。
1200 年，他著有 Liber abaci 一書，書名的意思是「計算的書」。在這書中，他引入阿拉伯數系於拉丁語國家。這書第一章的卷首語如下：

『印度的九個數目字為：9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1，利用這九個數字，以及符號 0，這符號在阿拉伯稱為「零」，則可以寫出任何數目，這就是本章要說明的。』

此外，在這書中，他亦同時介紹了一列數字，而人們為了尊崇他而稱這列數字為斐波那契數列。


學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關斐波那契的資料：
http://www.nhltc.edu.tw/~chchang/homework/90/social2/7-1.htm

延伸閱讀：
《新世紀版十萬個為什麼 - 數學篇 I》


Leonardo Fibonacci (1175 - 1250), who was born in Paris, is a famous Italian mathematician. He was the first person to use the decimal number system in Europe during the time when Roman numerals were still used in the Latin-speaking world. In 1200, Fibonacci wrote the book Liber abaci, which means 'The Book of Calculations'. In his book, he introduced the decimal number system to the Latin-speaking world. The first chapter of his book begins with:

These are the nine figures of the Indians: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. With these nine figures, and with this sign 0 which in Arabic is called zephirum, any number can be written, as will be demonstrated.

In the book, he also introduced a series of numbers, which was later known as the Fibonacci sequence in order to honour him.


Student may visit the following website for more details about Fibonacci:
http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibBio.html

延伸閱讀：
《新世紀版十萬個為什麼 - 數學篇 I》

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萊布尼茲(Gottfried W. Leibniz)

萊布尼玆 (1646 - 1716) 是一個德國數學家、物理學家及哲學家。他是一個罕有的天才。他在 20 歲時已獲得哲學博士學位，學識非常廣博。他的研究範圍包括哲學、歷史學、語言學、生物學、地質學、機械工程、物理學、數學、玄學及法律。除此之外，他也是一位出色的外交家。


學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關萊布尼玆的資料：
http://episte.math.ntu.edu.tw/people/p_leibniz/


Gottfried Leibniz (1646 - 1716) is a German mathematician, physicist and philosopher. Leibniz was a rare genius. At the age of 20, he gained his Doctor of Philosophy. His erudition covered a wide spectrum including philosophy, history, linguistics, biology, geology, mechanical engineering, physics, mathematics, metaphysics and law. Besides, he was also a distinguished diplomat. In fact, he was an exceptionally talented person.


Student may visit the following website for more details about Leibniz:
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Leibniz.html

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納皮爾 (John Napier)

納皮爾 (1550 - 1617) 是一位蘇格蘭數學家。他在 13 歲便入讀聖安德魯大學，但並未畢業就已經離校了。他大部分的高等數學知識都是在歐洲學到的，可是卻沒有特別記載於歐洲何處學習。
納皮爾最為人所共知的事情，就是發明了對數。對數可幫助人們處理包含龐大數目的難題。
若我們想求 的值，則可以先利用對數計算。設

由上述可知，我們可以利用對數，把一個乘數的問題，化為較輕易的加數問題。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關納皮爾的資料：
http://episte.math.ntu.edu.tw/articles/mm/mm_03_4_07/


John Napier（1550 - 1617）was a Scottish mathematician. He entered St. Andrews University in 1563 when he was only 13 years old. But he did not complete his course at the university. Most of his knowledge of higher mathematics was acquired when he was studying in Europe. But there was no record showing where he studied.
Napier is best known for his invention of logarithms which can be used to tackle problems with large numbers. If we want to calculate , we can take the logarithm first.

Let

So, we change a multiplication problem to an addition problem which is easier to handle.

Student may visit the following website for more details about John Napier:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Napier.html

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牛頓(Issac Newton)

牛頓(Issac Newton, 1642 - 1727)是英國偉大的物理學家、數學家及天文學家。他最傑出的成就是微積分、光學理論及萬有引力。當他只是 24 歲時，已發現了萬有引力及光譜的性質，同時也正在研究微積分的基本定理。


學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關牛頓的資料：
http://episte.math.ntu.edu.tw/articles/mm/mm_16_2_10/

延伸閱讀：
《人物世界歷史 3 近代篇》


Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727) was a British physicist, mathematician and astronomer, possibly the greatest ever. His three prominent inventions were: calculus, theories of optics and universal gravitational force. By the age of 24, he had already discovered universal gravitation and the nature of the light spectrum, and was working on the basic principle of calculus.


Student may visit the following website for more details about Newton:
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Newton.html

延伸閱讀：
《人物世界歷史 3 近代篇》

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丘成桐 (Yau Shing-tung)

丘成桐於 1949 年出生於廣東省汕頭市，年幼時隨父母移居香港，在培正中學就讀。中學畢業後，丘成桐進入了香港中文大學數學系，憑著出眾的數學才華只用了兩年半的時間便完成課程。其後更獲推薦到美國深造。兩年後，他於加州大學柏克萊分校獲得博士學位。丘成桐現任美國哈佛大學講座教授、浙江大學數學科學中心主任及香港中文大學數學研究所所長。1976年，丘成桐因成功解開微積幾何學難題卡拉比猜想，而於1982年獲得數學界最高榮譽--菲爾斯獎，是首位中國數學家獲此殊榮。此外他亦曾獲不少榮譽與學術獎項，當中包括諾貝爾獎頒發機構瑞典皇家學院於1994年頒發的克拉福特獎、美國數學家學會於1981年頒發的最高榮譽威伯倫獎及1981年由香港中文大學頒授的榮譽理學博士學位。


學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關丘成桐的資料：
http://episte.math.ntu.edu.tw/articles/mm/mm_16_1_09/


Yau Shing-tung （丘成桐） was born in Shantou, Guangdong Province, China in 1949. He moved to Hong Kong with his parents when he was young and studied at Pui Ching Middle School. Upon graduation, he was admitted to the Department of Mathematics of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Due to his outstanding talents in Mathematics, he completed his study in only two and a half years.Yau then continued his studies in the United States and did received his dotoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley in two years. He is now Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University, Director of Center of Mathematical Sciences at Zhejiang University and Director of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Yau solved the Calabi Conjecture in 1976 and was awarded in1982 the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award for mathematicians. He was the first Chinese mathematician who received the award. Moreover, he also has received a number of academic awards and honorary degrees, including the Crafoord Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1994, the Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry from the American Mathematical Society in 1981 and the honorary doctoral degree in science from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1981.


Student may visit the following website for more details about Yau Shing-tung:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Yau.html

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柯西 (Augustin L. Cauchy)

柯西 (Augustin L. Cauchy, 1789 - 1857) 是一名法國數學家。他是第一位嚴格定義了無窮級數的收斂性的數學家，他亦發明了比值審斂法 (ratio test) ，用作驗證只包含正數項的級數是屬於收斂級數，還是發散級數。此外，柯西也是其中一位推動嚴謹數學分析的先驅。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關柯西的資料：
http://www.shuxue.net/Article_Show2.asp?ArticleID=308

Augustin L. Cauchy (柯西， 1789 - 1857) was a French mathematician, who was the first to precisely define the ideas of convergence and absolute convergence of infinite series. He also invented ratio test for the convergence or divergence of a series of positive terms. Besides, he was one of the pioneers who introduced rigourous mathematical analysis.

Student may visit the following website for more details about Cauchy:
http://scidiv.bcc.ctc.edu/Math/Cauchy.html

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高斯 ( Carl Friedrich Gauss)

高斯 ( Carl Friedrich Gauss,1777- 1855) 是一名德國數學家，於 1777 年 4 月 30 日在德國的布隆斯維克城出生。高斯是近代數學奠基者之一，更被人們尊稱為「數學王子」。他幼年時就表現出超人的數學天才。1795年進入格丁根大學學習。1798年轉入黑爾姆施泰特大學，1799年獲博士學位，1807年以後一直在格丁根大學任教授。
高斯的數學研究幾乎遍及所有領域，在數論、代數學、非歐幾何、複變函數和微分幾何等方面都做出了開創性的貢獻。他還把數學應用於天文學、大地測量學和磁學的研究，發明了最小二乘法原理。高斯的數論研究總結在《算術研究》（1801）中，這本書奠定了近代數論的基礎，也是數學史上不可多得的經典著作之一。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關高斯的資料：
http://www.edp.ust.hk/math/history/3/3_125.htm

延伸閱讀：
《新世紀版十萬個為什麼 - 數學篇 I》

Gauss (高斯 1777 - 1855) was a German mathematician, who was born in Brunswick on 30 April 1777. Gauss was one of the founders of modern mathematics and was called the "Prince of Mathematics". His talent in mathematics was manifested when he was young. In 1795, Gauss studied at Gottingen University and changed to the University of Helmstedt in 1798 where he obtained his doctoral degree in 1799. He taught in the Gottingen University since 1807.

Gauss' researches almost lie oa every arena of mathematics, including number theory, algebra, non-Euclidean geometry, complex variables, differential geometry, etc. He also applied the concepts of mathematics to astronomy, surveying and magnetism. He invented the least squares method. Gauss's researches was summarized in Disquisitiones Arithmeticae (1801), which laid the foundation of number theories. It is indeed a classic in mathematics.

Student may visit the following website for more details about Gauss:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Gauss.html

延伸閱讀：
《新世紀版十萬個為什麼 - 數學篇 I》

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笛卡兒 (René Descartes)

笛卡兒 (René Descartes, 1596 - 1650) 是法國著名的哲學家、數學家、物理學家及自然科學家。他於1596年3月31日出生於圖倫一貴族家庭。笛卡兒對數學的最重大貢獻是創立解析幾何，將代數與幾何連成一體。他起初使用一組數對 (x, y) 來代表平面上的一點，然後展示出這些代數演算與幾何運算的關連。他也證明我們在歐幾里德幾何中所熟悉的線、多邊形、圓、橢圓及其他圓錐曲線，如何對應到代數方程，因此幾何的問題就可以轉換成代數方程，而代數的運算也可以用幾何的形式來加以表示。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關笛卡兒的資料：
http://www.mathland.idv.tw/history/descartes.html

René Descartes (笛卡兒，1596 - 1650) was a famous French philosopher, mathematician, physicist and physiologist. He was born in a noble family near Tours in France on 31 March 1596. The most important contribution of Descartes to mathematics was the invention of analytic geometry which links the algebra and geometry together. He first use a pair of numbers (x, y) to represent a point on the plane and then show the relationships between algebra and geometry. He also proved how the lines, polygons, circles, ellipes and other conic curves in Euclidean geometry can be expressed in algebraic equations. Therefore, the geometrical problems can be transformed to algebraic problems and vice versa.

Student may visit the following website for more details about Descartes:
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/d/descarte.htm

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韋達 (Franciscus Viète)

韋達 (Franciscus Viète, 1540 - 1603) 是著名的法國數學家。他對數學的最大貢獻是對代數方程的創新處理方法。他有系統地以代數符號表示方程中的係數及未知數，並由此求二次、三次及四次方程的根。此做法在當時可說是一門新的代數方法，即是利用公式及法則解方程，而不是透過繪畫方程的圖像以求解。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關韋達的資料：
http://episte.math.ntu.edu.tw/articles/sm/sm_27_07_1/page6.html

Franciscus Viète (韋達，1540 - 1603) was a famous French mathematician. Viete's major contribution is the innovative treatment of algebraic equations. He initiated the systematical use of letters to denote both the coefficients and the unknowns, and also devised solutions for the equations of the second, third, and fourth degrees. This was the beginning of a new type of algebra, expressed in terms of abstract formulas and general rules, instead of the geometrical visualizations.

Student may visit the following website for more details about Viete:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15425b.htm

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希爾伯特 (David Hilbert)

德國數學家希爾伯特 (David Hilbert, 1862 - 1943) 於1862年1月23日出生於柯尼斯堡。希爾伯特是二十世紀最出色的數學家之一。他由 1895年開始在格丁根大學任教直至退休。

他解答了數個代數不變式定理中的重要問題，並利用希爾伯特基本定理解決了十九世紀中代數不變式定理中的經典理論。1899年，希爾伯特在《幾何基礎》一書中，第一次提出了完備的歐幾里得幾何公理體系，奠定了現代公理化方法的基礎。 1900年，希爾伯特在巴黎舉行的國際數學家會議上提出了新世紀數學面臨的23個問題，對這些問題的研究有力地推動了20世紀數學發展的進程。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關希爾伯特的資料： http://www.edp.ust.hk/math/history/3/3_143.htm


David Hilbert (希爾伯特，1862 - 1943) was a German mathematician who was born in Wehlau on 23 January 1862. He is recognized as one of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century. Since 1895, he had been the professor of mathematics at the University of Gottingen until his retirement.

Hilbert solved several important problems in the theory of invariants. Hilbert's basis theorem solved the principal problem of invariant theory in the 19th century. Hilbert put forward the first correct and complete axiomatization of Euclidean geometry to replace Euclid's axiomatization of geometry, in his book Grundlagen der Geometrie (1899). He also put forth an influential list of 23 unsolved problems in the Paris conference of the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1900.

Student may visit the following website for more details about Hilbert:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hilbert

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劉徽（約公元前250 – 280）是中國古代一位傑出的數學家。他生於三國時代，著作有《九章算術注》九卷及《海島算經》一卷。

《九章算術注》為《九章算術》的公式提出證明並糾正當中不精確或錯誤的地方，在數學理論和方法上也作出了許多傑出的貢獻。他創造的割圓術已含有現代極限的思想，為計算圓周率提供了科學的方法。 《海島算經》原為《九章算術注》的附錄，後來獨立成書。劉徽在該書發展出一套完備理論來解決測量問題。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關劉徽的資料：
http://www.chiculture.net/0803/html/c12/0803c12.html

Liu Hui (劉徽, about BC 250 – 280) is a very famous mathematician in ancient China. He was born in the time of Three Kingdoms. He wrote two important works, Commentary on Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art (九章算術注) and Sea Island Mathematical Manual (海島算經).

In the commentary, besides providing proves for the formulas given in Nine Chapters, Liu Hui also pointed out the errors or mistakes in Nine Chapters and made necessary corrections. His many contributions included the method of dissecting a circle which is a scientific method to calculate the value of π.

Sea Island Mathematical Manual was originally an appendix of Commentary on Nine Chapters. Later it was made into a separate work. Liu Hui developed a theory to solve problems on surveying.

Students may visit the following website for more details:
http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhist/china.html

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秦九韶（Qin Jiushao）

秦九韶（約公元1202 – 1261）是中國宋元時期一位著名數學家，著有《數書九章》共18卷。在書中他有系統地說明如何以數值方法求高次方程的近似根，類似方法於五百多年後的19世紀才由西方數學家重新發現。秦九韶的另一個重大貢獻是創造大衍求一術，完整地解決了一次同餘式問題。

此外，在卷五「三斜求積」題中，他還獨立發現了與希羅公式等價的三角形面積公式：

。

同學們只要把開方號內的多項式因式分解，便能證明這兩個公式是等價的。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關秦九韶的資料：
http://www.edp.ust.hk/math/history/3/3_26.htm
http://www.chiculture.net/0803/html/c15/0803c15.html



Qin Jiushao (about 1202 – 1261) was a famous Chinese mathematician during the Song Dynasty. In his book Mathematical Writing in Nine Sections, he explained systematically how to find approximate roots of high order equations by numerical method. 500 years later, such method was discovered again by Western mathematicians. Another remarkable achievement of Qin is the use of Chinese Remainder Theorem to solve simultaneous integer congruences.

Besides, he also derived a formula which is equivalent to Heron’s formula on area of triangles:

.

Students may factorize the polynomial in the square root sign and get the Heron’s formula.

Students may visit the following website for more details:
http://www.math.sfu.ca/histmath/China/13thCenturyAD/Qin.html

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阿貝爾（Niels Henrik Abel）

阿貝爾（1802 – 1829）是挪威人，自幼家境貧困。1821年，阿貝爾得到老師的幫助，才能籌集大學學費，進入克里斯蒂安尼亞大學（University of Christiania）就讀。進入大學後，阿貝爾十分努力研究數學，後來，年僅22歲的阿貝爾證明了一般五次方程是沒有公式可解的，這是當時一個著名的數學難題，但沒有引起人們的注意。雖然如此，但他仍然一方面做代課教師維生，一方面致力研究橢圓函數，並不斷發表他的成果，這些成果受到當時著名的數學家重視。當他們知道阿貝爾的處境後，都十分震驚，並積極為他尋求一個大學教席以解他的困境。 1829年4月8日，柏林大學決定聘請阿貝爾，但已經太遲了，阿貝爾早在兩天前病逝，終年27歲。

為了紀念阿貝爾的貢獻，挪威政府在阿貝爾誕生200周年的2002年設立阿貝爾獎。阿貝爾獎參照諾貝爾獎的做法，由2003年開始每年均頒發獎金予有貢獻的數學家。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關資料：
http://www.edp.ust.hk/math/history/3/3_128.htm
http://episte.math.ntu.edu.tw/people/p_abel/index.html
http://www.alihk.net/~md/fun/stories/abel.htm


Niels Henrik Abel (1802 – 1829) was a Norwegian and was born in a poor family. In 1821, with the help of his teacher, Abel was able to pay the school fee and entered the University of Christiania. After entering university, Abel worked very hard to learn mathematics. Later, at the age of 22, he proved that there is no general formula to solve an equation of degree five. It was a very famous problem at that time but Abel received not much attention. Nevertheless, he continued to work on elliptic functions and at the same time earned his living as a supply teacher. Finally, some famous mathematicians were aware of his works. When they knew that Abel was living in poverty, they were shocked. They looked for an academic post for him. On 8th April 1829, an offer was given by the University of Berlin. However, it was too late. Abel was already death two days ago, at the age of 27.

In memory of Abel, the Abel prize was set up on the occasion of the bicentenary of his birth. It is modeled after the Nobel Prize to award excellence mathematicians annually. It was awarded the first time in 2003.

Students may visit the following websites for more details:
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Abel.html
http://turnbull.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Abel.html
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/AbelPrize.html

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阿基米德（Archimedes of Syracuse）

阿基米德（約公元前287 – 212）是古希臘一位偉大的數學家和物理學家，著作很豐富。他早年曾跟隨歐幾里得的學生學習。他貢獻良多，影響深遠，甚至被數學史家尊稱為「數學之神」。

他在幾何學上有很多獨創的方法，甚至比牛頓及萊布尼茲早2000年便以積分的概念去求圓周率及球體體積。他也發明了不少機械，如滑輪及阿基米德式螺旋抽水機等。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關他的資料：
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/阿基米德
http://bwc.hkcampus.net/~bwc-phys/Physicist/Archimedes.htm


Archimedes (BC 287 – 212) was a great mathematician as well as a physicist in ancient Greek. He wrote many important works. When he was a young man, Archimedes studied with the successors of Euclid. He had many important and influential contributions and some historians of mathematics even called him “the god of mathematics ”.

He revolutionised geometry with his unique methods. In finding the value of p and the volume of a sphere, he used the concept of integral calculus 2000 years before Newton and Leibniz. He also invented a wide variety of machines including pulleys and the Archimidean screw pumping device.

Students may visit the following website for more details of Archimedes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes_of_Syracuse
http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/contents.html

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費馬（Pierre de Fermat）

費馬（1601 – 1665）出身商人世家，大學畢業後以律師為職業，曾出任政府官員。他業餘愛好研究數學，在數論做出不少創造性的工作，包括他那著名的費馬最後定理：

「對於 n > 2， 沒有整數解x、y 及 z。」

此問題於1637由費馬首先提出，直至358年後的1995年才由英國數學家懷爾斯（Andrew John Wiles）提出第一個正確的證明。

此外，對不少數學分支的創立，例如微積分、概率、及解析幾何等，費馬也曾作出重大貢獻。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關他及費馬最後定理的資料：
http://www.mikekong.net/Maths/Mathematicians/Fermat.html
http://staff.ccss.edu.hk/jckleung/xue_qu/fermat/fermat.html


Pierre de Fermat (1601 – 1665) was born in a wealthy family. After graduated from the university, he became a lawyer. Besides, he was also a government official. He studied mathematics in his spare time.
He did many creative works in number theory, in particular the famous Fermat’s Last Theorem:
“ has no non-zero integer solutions for x, y and z when n > 2.”

Fermat first raised this problem in 1637. Only 358 years later in 1995, the first correct proof was given by the British mathematician Andrew John Wiles.

Fermat was also important in the foundations of various fields in mathematics including calculus, probability and analytic geometry.

Students may visit the following website for more details of Fermat and the Fermat's Last Theorem:
http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Fermat/RouseBall/RB_Fermat.html
http://fermat.workjoke.com/

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華羅庚（Hua Luo Geng）

華羅庚（1910 – 1985）是中國近代著名的數學家，出生於中國江蘇省金壇縣。初中畢業後便協助父親打理雜貨店，期間一直自學數學。1930年，他發表關於五次方程的文章而受到清華大學的熊慶來教授賞識，獲邀到北京清華大學圖書館工作，並作數學講座的旁聽生，後來華羅庚被聘為助教，兩年後再升為講師。

華羅庚在數論及偏微分方程等多個領域都作出了卓越的貢獻，他對在中國普及應用數學方法非常關注，也十分熱衷教育及栽培青年數學家。

學生可瀏覽以下網頁，以了解更多有關他的資料：
http://www.chilinbps.edu.hk/chilinbps/studyingcorner/subject/
Subjects/maths/mrhua.htm
http://hft.hkcampus.net/~hft-yyy/ChineseMathematician1.html
http://www.nthu.edu.tw/index-t/intro/intro520_m.htm



Hua Luo Geng (華羅庚, 1910 – 1985) was a leading mathematician of modern China. He was born in Jintan in the Jiangsu Province of China. After finishing junior secondary school, he helped his father to manage his variety store. At the same time, he studied on his own. In 1930, he published a paper on quintic equations (equations of order five) which caught the eye of Professor Xiong Qinglai at Quing Hua University in Beijing. Hua was invited to work in the library and was allowed to sit in on mathematics lectures. Later, Hua was employed as an assistant in mathematics. After two years, he became a lecturer.

Hua made many contributions in various fields in mathematics such as number theory and partial differential equations. He was also eager to popularize the application of mathematical methods in China. Besides, he had made much effort in education and bring up of young mathematicians.

Students may visit the following website for more details of Hua:
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Hua.html
http://www.numbertheory.org/obituaries/AA/hua/page1.html

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